Dear Reader,
 
My favorite question from friends, family, and strangers is: what have you recently read and loved? 
 
Of course, the best way to find the right book is coming into the store - wandering around and waiting for serendipity, sitting down with a pile of books and trying a few pages, reading our staff suggestions, and discovering that one book (...or two or three...) that makes you feel like going right home (or to the beach) to start reading.  That is ideal.

An alternative option is suggestions from both book reviews and well-read friends but we know that can be a little bewildering.  Therefore, we've figured out a way to make it fun and easy to discover a new book that's just right for you: our "What's Your Perfect Next Read?" quiz. 
 
The books populating our quiz results are newly released in hardcover or paper and selected from our staff suggestions.  Click here for the quiz - have fun taking it! The quiz results will be refreshed regularly so you can find new books all the time.  You may be in the mood for one kind of book today and another tomorrow - try it out! 

Pass it on to friends and feel free to provide us feedback - and if you decide to buy the book, we hope you will buy from us.  As incentive, the quiz results provide a coupon code for 10% off toward your purchase of any of the recommended titles.  We offer $0.99 shipping and you can safely store your credit card information on our website - all pretty easy to get the right book right to you.   (We are starting this quiz with new fiction and if there is interest, we will add additional quizzes for mystery, non-fiction, and more.) 
 
Another request we often receive is for gift baskets of books for newborns, a new home, for a gardener or home-chef for his/her birthday, etc.  Our kids team, ably led by Children's Buyer Jamie McCauley, has put together the smartest new baby basket of books in all price ranges: $24.99, $49.99 and $99.99.  They are totally adorable and are truly the perfect new baby gift.  You can buy in the store, e-mail us, or buy online and we'll take care of the rest.
 
Finally, here are some books I recommend for summer reading when the idea of plopping down in a comfy spot with a great book and feeling removed from the world is seductive and possible. 

My top picks:
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley - guaranteed can't put down mystery.  Author Kristin Hannah (of The Nightingale fame) agrees - check out her review in the New York Times.
All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage - picked by Anna Quindlen as the top summer book. I agree! (Elizabeth will be at the store THIS Thursday- July 7th.)

And the two books with the big buzz: 
The Girls by Emma Cline and Modern Lovers by Emma Straub.  Both worthy of the buzz.
 
I am currently in Maine with a new pile of books and will keep you posted on what I'm enjoying.

In the meantime, I hope you find the spot, the book, and the moment to experience that magic of summer reading.
 
Happy Summer,

Roxanne J. Coady



 


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R.J. Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
(203) 245-3959 or 800-74-READS